


somebody to someone

by AveryTheTitaniumLady



Series: Our kind of love [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Has Anxiety (Julie and The Phantoms), Bisexual Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canonical Character Death, Communication, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Healthy Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Kissing, Lots of Crying, Love, Luke is a Tease, M/M, Multi, No beta we die like Sunset Curve, Platonic Relationships, Polyamory, Protective Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Queerplatonic Relationships, Reggie's Flannel (Julie and The Phantoms), Romantic Friendship, boys being soft, i beta read it myself but (and not to call myslef out) i sorta suck at seeing typos lol, well like - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AveryTheTitaniumLady/pseuds/AveryTheTitaniumLady
Summary: Five times the boys were asked to label themselves, and one time they justwere.
Relationships: Alex & Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Carlos Molina & Julie Molina & Ray Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Julie Molina, Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Ray Molina, Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Carlos Molina & Reggie, Emily Patterson & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Luke Patterson, Julie Molina & Reggie, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Ray Molina & Luke Patterson, Ray Molina & Reggie
Series: Our kind of love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986427
Comments: 110
Kudos: 475





	1. Bobby

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel, but it should still make sense if you don't want to read the first story! (I mean, I'd prefer if you read that one too but you do you)

When Bobby meandered into the garage at three in the afternoon on New Year’s day, he expected to see his bandmates passed out in various locations around the space, surrounded by empty beers. He expected there to maybe be some missing clothes, maybe some nonsensical song lyrics scribbled down. He expected something like the situation he’d woken up to this morning, if he was being honest. 

What he didn’t expect was to see them all curled up together on the couch, fully dressed. Alex was laid down flat, Luke’s head resting on his chest and Reggie between his legs with his head on Alex’s stomach. Alex had an arm around each of them, and it almost looked like Luke and Reggie were... holding hands? 

He was too shocked to catch the door as it swung shut behind him, and it slammed into the frame with a loud thud. Alex jolted awake and Reggie would have fallen off the couch if it weren’t for the arm holding him close, but Luke simply grumbled, burying his face deeper into Alex’s chest. 

“What the fuck?”

Eyes clouded with sleep, Alex looked over at the door. “Oh, hey. Bobby. Wha’ time ‘s it?”

“It’s like quarter after three. Why are you all, like, cuddling? What happened last night?”

Bobby watched in confusion as at the mention of last night, all of his bandmates flushed bright red, Luke’s head snapping up insanely fast.

“Well- I mean, we just-”

Untangling his hand from Reggie’s and gently tapping him upside the head, Luke glared blearily at Bobby. “We played truth or dare and fell asleep. What did  _ you  _ do last night?”

Bobby looked closely at each of them, taking in Luke’s defensive tone, Reggie’s flustered stammering, and Alex’s blushing avoidance of his gaze. He took another step into the garage, trying to fit all the clues together. Just as he was about to give up and let it be, Alex turned his head. He had… a hickey… on his neck? Had they- No. No, they can’t have! Luke and Reggie weren’t gay, were they? But… the way they were acting  _ was  _ pretty suspicious… 

Raising his eyebrows, Bobby let out an incredulous little hum. 

“Well? What did you do, how was the party?”

“The party was pretty great, Luke. I spent most of last night drinking and making out with a hot girl, which counts as a win in my book. And by the looks of things, you guys were doing the same, huh? Without the hot girls of course.”

The blood drained from Luke’s face and seemed to flood directly into Reggie, who immediately tried to untangle himself from the others, getting caught on the arms and legs he’d been wrapped in all night before he managed to flop onto the floor. Bouncing up right away, eyes wide as saucers, Reggie started to stammer and fiddle with the edge of his flannel. Before he could get a solid word out though, Alex spoke up. 

“So what if we did?” He looked tired and resigned, but there was a spark of defiance in his tone. “So what if we kissed, if we liked it? So what if I-” Stopping suddenly, Alex closed his eyes. “So what if I want to do it again?”

Bobby didn't know how to react to that. He’d expected them to deny it, to tell him that there had been girls but they’d left. That it had been one dare and that was it. He thought they might laugh about it. He didn’t know what to do with what Alex had just said, with the way Luke and Reggie whipped their heads in the drummer's direction, mouths dropping slightly open. He didn’t know what to do with the expression of fear on Alex’s face or the love shining from Reggie’s. He didn’t know what to do with the way Luke raised a hand and caressed Alex’s cheek, tilting his face in his direction. 

When Alex opened his eyes, Luke smiled at him, expression softer than anyone had the right to be. He turned to face Bobby again, hand still on Alex’s face despite his puppy dog eyes giving way to something harder. “Yeah, Bobby. So what if we did, and so what if we want to keep doing it?”

Bobby was gobsmacked. This was definitely not what he’d been expecting on the first day of 1995. “Well, uh. Well, nothing I guess? I just- are you guys like, boyfriends now? All three of you?”

Looking at each other, his bandmates seemed to have a whole conversation without any words being said. They did that a lot actually, now that he was thinking about it. How had he never noticed it before, the way that they all seemed to fit together in ways that he didn’t? 

“No.”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘no’?”

With his hands in his back pockets, Reggie shrugged his shoulders. “No, we’re not boyfriends or whatever. We’re still just us, Alex, Luke, and me. Best friends and bandmates, but now we sometimes kiss?”

They were fifteen hours into the new year and Bobby had already had so many things go not at all how he’d expected them to. What was one more? What did he care, anyways, if his bandmates sometimes kissed in the privacy of the garage? Not like it affected him. Unless- 

“I don’t have to kiss you too, right?”

With a laugh, Luke finally pulled himself off Alex. “No, Bobby. You don’t have to kiss us. In fact, I think we’d all prefer if you didn’t.”

Bobby wasn’t sure whether to be offended or relieved. He settled on relieved. “Okay sweet. Kiss away, then.”

“If you say so!” Stepping over to Reggie, Luke grabbed him firmly by the back of his neck and pulled him in for a quick kiss, pulling away with an exaggerated “mwah”.

Alex burst into laughter as Bobby covered his eyes, turning away. “Jesus! Just, maybe not in front of me, okay? Or at least with some warning!” 

“Didn’t know you were such a prude, man.” Wiping a hand across his mouth, Luke raised his eyebrows at Bobby. 

Bobby stuck his tongue out at him. 

“Sorry for the morning breath, Reg.”

“Yeah, yeah. Any of you have toothpaste? I forgot mine.”

Alex sat up and stretched, face momentarily taken over by a massive yawn. “Yeah I’ve got some in my bag, gimme a sec.”

Bobby shook his head, watching as the boys all woke up a bit more and made themselves presentable so they could head home. This wasn’t at all how he’d thought New Year’s would go, but it definitely could’ve gone worse than a few kisses. 


	2. Emily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The words unsaid to Emily aren't unsaid to everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst sandwich with fluff for bread ❤

Luke sat in his room with Alex and Reggie, playing around with some chords on his acoustic as the other two wrestled on the bed. Things with his mom were actually going pretty well for the first time since he’d started skipping school to write, and after the boys had slept over the night before she’d invited them to stay for dinner today. He hadn’t wanted to jinx it by going to the garage and losing track of time, so they’d decided to just chill nearby ‘til then. They’d gone to the beach briefly, but the water was a little chilly and none of them had thought to bring swimsuits anyways, so they just wandered for a bit before heading back. At some point on the walk Reggie implied that he was stronger than Alex, and they immediately started to jostle each other. That was an hour ago. 

Neither of them had proven anything. 

“Are you guys going to be done anytime soon?”

“Not until-” Reggie pushed off the bed with his feet, trying to get some leeway. “I prove to Alex-” He wriggled, trying to get out from under the other boy, and Alex grabbed one of his wrists and pulled it over his head. With his other hand, Reggie pushed at his chest. “That I’m-” Snatching that hand too, Alex moved it to join the one he already held. “Stronger than him!”

Alex stared down at Reggie from his perch on the bassist's chest, holding both of his straining arms above his head with one hand. “You were saying?”

Pressing his lips together and narrowing his eyes, Reggie rocked his whole body up, knocking Alex onto his back. He straddled Alex’s waist and quickly twisted his hands so that he held the other boy’s, their fingers clasped together. His cheeks were splotchy and red with exertion, and as Reggie leaned his face down 'til it was hovering right above Alex’s, he smirked, his eyes gleaming. 

“Yeah, I _was_ saying.”

Alex stared up at him, eyes wide and lips parted slightly. Luke had stopped playing his guitar the second it had seemed like someone might win, but as Alex continued to simply look up at Reggie, he could feel the energy in the room shift from something playful to something distinctly more than that. Luke gently placed the guitar back in it’s stand and settled down into the bean bag chair he’d been sitting on, watching the scene play out.

Reggie leaned closer, his lips barely brushing against Alex’s before pulling away again. Alex whined, the same sound he’d made when Luke had first kissed his neck nearly two months ago, and stretched his face up towards Reggie. The other boy leaned back a bit more, still firmly pressing Alex’s hands down onto the bed. 

“Ah ah ah, what do you say?”

Furrowing his brows, Alex pouted. “Please?”

Reggie flushed a bit, losing his composure. His grip relaxed only for a moment, but it was enough for Alex to get his hands free and move them onto the back of his thighs, gripping tightly at the legs of the boy on top of him.

“No, uh. Not- not please.” Lifting his hands off the bed, Reggie sat up straighter, the playful look back on his face. “Admit that I’m stronger than you.”

“Ohhh, _that’s_ what you want me to say? That you’re stronger than me?” Looking over at Luke, Alex raised his eyebrows. “What do you say Luke, should I say that he’s stronger than me? I’m not so sure.”

“I mean, he’s the one sitting on top of you and not the other way around? You were on top before though…” Laughing at Reggie's pleading expression, Luke shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, why not give him the satisfaction.”

With that, Alex rolled sideways and flipped Reggie onto his back once more. Alex lay between his legs, supporting himself with elbows that caged Reggie in, his face only a breath away the other boy's. “Okay, Reggie. I’ll say it.” Slow as possible, Alex inched closer. “You're. Stronger. Than me.”

Reggie’s self-satisfied “thank you” was muffled by Alex’s mouth on his own. The two boys kissed for a minute, Luke simply watching from the sidelines. He couldn’t believe how much he loved them, how much they meant to him. He lived for his music, but he wasn’t sure he’d want to make music with anyone other than Alex and Reggie. What they had wasn’t normal, but that didn’t mean it was any less right. 

“Boys! Time for dinner!”

Luke stood up from the bean bag and Alex rolled off Reggie, all of them heading for the door. Luke held it open for the other two, and as Reggie passed by he leaned over and gave him a quick peck. 

“Thanks for the help with Alex.” With a wink, Reggie continued downstairs. Luke touched his fingers lightly to his lips, his eyes soft, and closed the door behind him.

When he got to the dining room, the table was set with ham, scalloped potatoes, and green beans. His dad sat at one end of the table and his mom at the other, Alex and Reggie together on one side. He took his seat and they quickly said grace before digging in. Dinner was actually enjoyable, the food delicious and the conversation staying light. Everyone knew that talking about music and school wouldn’t go down well, which eliminated pretty much the only things three highschoolers in a band knew how to talk about, but they made it work. 

And then Reggie started to play footsie with Luke, and it quickly went downhill. It started off well enough, just some cheeky little nudges, but nothing ever stayed little with them. Within minutes, they were staring intently at each other and pushing as hard as they could against the other’s foot. His parents hadn’t noticed yet but Alex kept looking at them oddly. Reggie stuck his tongue out and Luke gave in, letting out a sudden laugh that interrupted his dad, just as Reggie’s foot went flying into Alex’s leg.

With a barked swear, Alex pushed his chair back with so much force that it started to fall over, but he grabbed Reggie’s arm and managed to balance himself without either of them ending up on the floor. Once they were settled firmly in their seats, the three boys shared a look. They burst into giggles that quickly evolved into full blown, tears-running-down-their-cheeks laughter. Every time they started to get it under control they would catch sight of one another and a new wave would start. It wasn’t until his mom slammed her hands down on the table that they remembered they were having dinner with Luke’s parents. 

“What _on earth_ are you all laughing about!?”

Sobering quickly, Luke’s shoulders tensed and he stared resolutely down at the table. “Nothing, mom.”

“It didn’t sound like nothing, Luke.”

“It was nothing, really Mrs. Patterson! Reggie accidentally kicked me and I fell back and then we just, you know, started laughing.”

“Yeah! And then once we started, we couldn’t really stop.”

His mom looked at the two boys, taking in their laughter flushed cheeks and the tears still visible in the corners of their eyes. Then she looked at Luke and his creased forehead, his hands folding into fists. 

“What’s going on with you boys? And I don’t just mean today, I mean the past few months. You’re always together, I don’t think I’ve even seen Luke without you more than a handful times!”

“Well, we’re in the band-”

Turning her sharp expression on Alex and Reggie, his mom interrupted. “If being in Sunset Curve is the reason, then where’s Bobby?” Neither of them were able to answer her, both of their eyes flicking about the room. Turning back to Luke, she raised her eyebrows. “What’s going on?”

No one said anything for a few seconds. 

“Emily, honey, could you pass down the potatoes?”

“Not until they answer me, Mitch. Luke?” 

Looking up at his mom, Luke put his fork down and tried to think of an explanation she would accept. “We’re just- It’s just- They mean a lot to me. Well, I mean, Alex and Reggie are my best friends! I don’t know. They’re my _friends_ , mom. I like hanging out with them. I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

Emily looked at him closely, but just as he has started to squirm under her gaze she settled back into her chair and passed the potatoes to him. “Okay. Well, I’m glad you’ve got friends like that. They’re a gift. Pass these to your father, please.” 

Everyone else in the room gave a collective sigh. The discussion was muted for the remainder of the meal, tension too thick for anyone to even considering causing more mischief. When they were all done, Alex offered to help with the dishes. He was brushed off by the Patterson's though, so the three boys made their way outside. Luke shouted to the kitchen that he was gonna walk them home, grabbing a coat and running out the door without waiting for a reply. 

They walked in silence for a few blocks, Luke in the middle with Alex and Reggie on either side of him. He felt Alex’s hand brush against his and reached out to hook their pinkies together, feeling safe in the darkness, and then doing the same with Reggie. “Thank you guys. I’m sorry that was a disaster.”

“Hey, no need to thank us. A little yelling isn’t anything I’m not used to.”

“Exactly, Reggie! You deal with enough of your own shit without having to worry about mine on top of it.” Stopping in his tracks, Luke tore his hands from theirs and spun around, eyes welling up. “We were having such a good day, too.” 

Luke felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Alex step into his peripheral vision. “We’re still having a good day, Luke. Just ‘cause dinner wasn’t all that and a bag of chips doesn’t mean that the whole day’s a bust.”

Luke allowed Alex turn him back around and let himself be wrapped in the drummer's strong, solid arms. Feeling a chin land gently on the top of his head, he mumbled an “I love you” that got lost in the fabric of the other boy's hoodie, but he felt like Alex got the message anyways. As he pulled away from the embrace, he swiped a finger under his eyes and wiped away his tears before they had the chance to fall. When he looked up, he could see Reggie standing a step away, arms held open and eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. 

Tears threatening to return, Luke stepped forward and let himself be held again. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve these boys, but he was so glad they were his. Reaching behind him with one arm, he grabbed Alex’s sleeve and pulled him in to join the hug. “I love you guys so much.”

“Love you too, Luke.”

“And you guys say _I’m_ the emotional one.” Luke tensed up, and Alex quickly backtracked. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! I love you too, so much. Don’t ever doubt that, okay?”

Nodding into Reggie’s shoulder, Luke let his arms fall and waited for the other boys to break the hug. When they did, they fell back into the same line as before and continued on their walk to Reggie’s house, pinkies interlocked. 

\----

Two weeks later, Luke ran away from home. For good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...sorry (but also not sorry)
> 
> So for some reason I've got this head canon that Luke left home a little less than 5 months before he died, which means that this took place closer to the end of February (I might write a Valentines day one shot that takes place before this chapter 👀).
> 
> I also want to state that I actually quite like Emily, and she's not intending to be mean here. She just wants to be let into her son's life, and she's not sure how to go about it especially because things have been tense lately and every time they talk seems to result in a fight. Luke has 5 months to think about her actions in relation to his own and comes to the conclusion that she loved him and he loved her, even if they didn't always get along and had very different ideas of what they wanted Luke's future to be. Emily gets 25 years to regret everything she'd ever said to push her son away. JATP shows that families aren't perfect, and while some can be forgiven (I.e. this one), others can't or arent worth it (*cough cough* Reggie's). And whether you choose to forgive or not is YOUR choice and no one else's.


	3. Julie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not what they've lost, it's what they've gained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anthem for this chapter: Wake Up

They did a sound check, went for a walk, and ate some hotdogs. Some bad hotdogs, it turned out. As Reggie lay on the ground, the other boys groaning beside him and sirens blaring in the distance, he knew that this was what was going to kill him. Taken out by a street dog, of all things, and on the biggest night of his life, too! He was dying with his best friends by his side, and much as he hoped that his hotdog had been the only bad one and he'd never eaten it, he was glad that he was leaving this world beside the two people who made it worth living in. 

Selfishly, he couldn't help but think that at least now he wouldn’t ever have to live without them.

\---

So it turned out that they’d _all_ died, ghosts were real, they were ghosts now, and Alex had been crying for twenty-five years (they’d have to talk about that at some point, probably). They'd been holding Alex while he cried, and then they’d been forcefully poofed into their studio. Where there was a girl? She screamed, they screamed, she ran, they stayed. Well, they explored a bit, but they stayed close enough that they heard her when she came back. It was a whole debacle, really. Reggie thought for a moment that Julie was a witch, she put her hand through Alex’s chest, they noticed that phones had changed A LOT, Julie said she thought they were cute, and then she kicked them out. 

They didn’t leave though, hoping that maybe she’d come back and change her mind. That’s when they found out they could play music and people would still be able to hear it, which was… pretty amazing. Not so amazing when Julie yelled at them again, though. But I mean, afterwards they had a heart-to-heart and she said they could stay! Small victories. Fast forward a few weeks and the boys were proud members of Julie and the Phantoms. And the phantoms? That was them! Their careers were doing pretty damn good considering, you know, dead and all.

Other things were going pretty damn good too, cus there were some benefits to being invisible to most people. Namely, the boys could hold hands in public, all three of them at the same time even! They could kiss and hug and touch and be themselves and not have to worry about being seen, about what other people would think. The only time they had to be careful was when Julie was around. 

It wasn’t that they thought she’d freak out or anything, it was just that they’d gotten used to not telling anyone! They’d spent like seven months hiding their odd relationship from everyone but Bobby, and honestly? Reggie was pretty sure the only reason they’d told him was because he’d caught them red-handed. Maybe they wouldn’t have ever talked about it among themselves if Bobby hadn’t walked in on them, though. And it _was_ nice to be able to express themselves in front of him. They might not have had the same relationship with him as they had with each other, but Bobby was still important to them.

Julie was important to them now, too.

Reggie was laying on the couch, his head in Alex’s lap as the drummer played with his hair. Luke sat in one of the chairs, notebook open on the table in front of him. “Hey, guys, do you think we should tell Julie?”

Looking over at Reggie, Luke cocked an eyebrow in his direction. “Tell Julie what?”

“You know, us? Shouldn’t she know? Bobby knew.”

Alex’s hand paused in his hair at the mention of their former bandmate, and Luke clenched his pencil so hard that he was afraid it would snap. “It doesn’t affect her though, does it? D’you think it’s important for her to know?”

“Well I wouldn’t mind being able to sit like this when she’s here. You’re really good at playing with hair, Alex.”

Luke nodded, putting his pencil down and leaning back. “Reggie’s got a point there, I always feel so much calmer when you’re playing with my hair.”

“Thank you, I think?” 

“Okay wait, back to the topic at hand. Telling Julie.” Reggie sat up, putting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands in front of his chin. “Personally, I think we should tell her. Partially because of Alex’s magic fingers and how much I love cuddling, and partially because I feel like she should know what she’d be getting into. Like, no offense Luke but you’re kinda easy to read when you’ve got a crush? And so is she?”

At the mention of his crush, Luke shot up out of the chair, his mouth dropping open. “I do not have a crush!”

“Uh, sorry to tell you dude, but you _totally_ have a crush.”

“Alex! No I don’t!”

Alex and Reggie shared a look, tongues in cheeks and trying not to grin. Turning back to Luke, Alex adjusted the strap of his fanny pack. “Okay, well, even if _you_ don’t have a crush-”

“Which you do!”

“-Julie _definitely_ does. And I can see why Reggie thinks she should know that we’re like, a little more than friends, you know?” 

Walking over and flopping onto the couch beside Reggie, Luke blew a long breath out his nose. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just that, we- uh, we’ve never actually told anyone before? Bobby walked in on us, and he was the only one who knew anything concrete. My mom suspected or something, but I’ve never outright said ‘Alex, Reggie, and I like to kiss sometimes’”

The door swung shut with a bang, and all three boys froze. They turned slowly to face Julie, all of their shoulders caving in. He could feel Alex tense up beside him, could almost hear the panicked thoughts racing through his head. Reggie wrapped one arm around himself and placed the other on Alex’s knee, rubbing soothing circles with his thumb. He wished he could just disappear, but he knew better than to poof away right then. 

Julie stood by the entrance, almost exactly where Bobby had stood the first time this all went down. Head tilted slightly to the side, she gestured haltingly with her hands, seeming unsure what to do. 

“Um. Hey, Jules.” Biting his cheek, his eyes darting all over, Luke gave a small wave in her direction.

“You guys are- you’re together?”

“Well, yes and no?” Gently squeezing Alex’s knee, Reggie half-smiled at Julie. “I love these guys so much that sometimes I think I’m gonna die for a second time, but they’re not my boyfriends or anything. We just, you know. Kiss and cuddle and hold hands sometimes. We’re friends, just not the way most people are.”

“Like a- like a queerplatonic kinda thing?”

Blinking rapidly, Reggie glanced at Luke and then Alex. Both of them just shrugged, looking equally as lost as he felt. He smiled, looking back at Julie “I have never heard that word before and I have no idea what it means! We’re friends and we kiss, but we’re not dating, and sometimes we date other people.”

“I’ll uh, show you guys some articles and stuff later I guess? Sometimes I forget that you guys didn't actually grow up when I did. From what I know though, it sounds like you’re in some kind of polyam, queerplatonic relationship or something."

Shrugging again, Reggie grabbed Alex’s hand and threaded their fingers together. “Sure, whatever you wanna call it. Just know that you don’t gotta worry,” Grinning widely and winking at her, he pushed Luke’s shoulder with his unoccupied hand. “Luke’s all yours if you want him!”

Quickly scrambling into Alex’s lap, Reggie poofed them both outside. As he leaned up to give the drummer a kiss, he could hear Luke screaming his name. Grinning into the kiss, Reggie wrapped his arms around Alex and held him close, squeezing tightly before letting go and stepping away. 

“We should probably go further than just outside the door if you don’t want him to catch you right away.” Eyes bright with amusement, Alex held out a hand. “C’mon, I know just the place.”

Looking back towards the garage, Reggie took his hand. They poofed away to the sound of Luke’s screeching and Julie’s laughter, and Reggie knew that everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God. Okay. Reggie's perspective is very fun to write. I really just want to give all of them a big hug, they've been through so much shit. 
> 
> Important note: Luke is not great with emotional stuff but this relationship with the boys has helped with that a bit. Even with canon-Luke's inability to deal with tears though, I am so mad at the scene where Alex says neither of them hugged him once while he was crying. You can't tell me that Luke could watch Alex sob and not try to comfort him??? Not to mention Reggie!! Reggie would be physically incapable of not hugging Alex!!!! Ughhhhhhhhhhhh.
> 
> Another note: queerplatonic relationships can be many different things. I know the term is used often in the aro and ace communities, but queerplatonic and quasiplatonic are both also used to describe relationships like the one that the boys have in their fic series. They kiss and hug and occasionally makeout, and they do things usually associated with romantic relationships, but they're not in a romantic relationship. They love each other, they think the others are attractive, and they want to express that love in any way they can. Okay that's all for today, I hope you like it!


	4. Willie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now it's Alex who's got a crush...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has a lot of canon dialogue (that I had to rewatch sad scenes to get right) but uhhhh here have some willex angst

“Yo, how did you shut that door, earlier you could barely open a garage door?”

Cheeky smirk on his face, Reggie turned to Alex. “Learned that from your new friend Willie, didn’t ya?”

Alex felt his face flush intensely as he stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, well, he taught me some things and we screamed in a museum.” Seeing the confused look Reggie and Luke shared, Alex amended his statement. “It’s a long story.”

“You think he has a few more tricks up his sleeve?”

\---

Alex panicked once he was standing in front of Willie, holding hands with the boys beside him. He knew that Luke had a ~thing~ going on with Julie, but also, they were ghosts and Julie was lifer so it’s not like anything could really happen. Willie, though? He was another ghost. Another ghost who he was  _ totally _ crushing on, who he’d not met that long ago. How would he react, if Alex told him about their not exactly typical friendship? He didn’t know, and he didn’t feel particularly ready to find out… Sooooooo he dropped Luke’s hand and introduced them only as his bandmates. 

Yeah. Not really the best move. 

It came back to bite him a bit later, when he went to snuggle with Reggie and instead got an accusatory look sent his way. “What are you doing? I thought we were  _ bandmates _ , not friends.”

“C’mon Reggie, I panicked! I said I was sorry the second he left.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to tell him everything! We barely know him! That doesn’t mean we have to pretend to not be friends, though.” Reggie turned away, shrugging off the hand Alex had placed on his shoulder. “I just- We’re still your friends, right?  _ I’m  _ still your friend?”

Oh. 

“Reggie, Reggie  _ of course _ you’re still my friend.” Gingerly placing his hand back on the other boy's shoulder, Alex tried to turn so that he could see Reggie’s face. “You’re one of my best friends, man. I love you so much.”

When Reggie angled himself towards Alex, he was hunched in and fiddling with the edge of his flannel, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “You’re not just lying to make me feel better?”

“No, Reggie. Remember what Luke said about the studio, about us? We don’t pretend with each other, and especially not here. I love you.”

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly and his furrowed brow relaxed a bit, but he still looked pretty unsure. “I love you, too.”

“No pretending, Reggie. I promise.”

With a genuine smile this time, Reggie nodded. “No pretending.”

\--- 

Willie was ignoring and avoiding him, and Alex didn’t know why. Things had been going so well, and now he just kept getting glimpses of the ghost as he skateboarded away. He’d thought they’d had something, but clearly not, and that hurt way more than the jolts he had been getting. He didn’t know why that was happening, either, and it sucked. Alex liked to know things. And to top it off, he’d been planning on telling Willie about his relationship with the boys soon. 

It had been a few weeks since they’d gone to the Hollywood Ghost Club with Willie and subsequently embarrassed Julie in front of her whole school by standing her up. The jolts had been getting worse, and no matter how many times he thought he saw Willie, the other boy never showed up to talk to Alex. He’d definitely seen him outside of the café where Luke had signed them up for that gig, but then he’d sped off and been gone by the time Alex poofed outside to check. He missed Willie, missed learning things from him and seeing his favourite places, missed talking to him. He wished he knew what had happened to make Willie avoid him like this.

A few days later, Alex, Luke, and Reggie were cuddling on the couch watching the older new Star Wars movies. Alex had his arm around Reggie, the bassist snuggled right up to him, and Luke was laying on his side, head in Alex’s lap. As he threaded his fingers through Luke’s hair, Alex leaned over and gave Reggie a gentle peck on the cheek. 

Turning to look at him for a second before going back to the movie so he didn’t miss anything, Reggie squished in closer. “What was that for?”

“Just ‘cause I love youuu.” As Alex peppered a few more kisses onto the side of Reggie’s face, he noticed some movement from the doorway. Looking up, Willie’s face was visible peeking through the windows, his mouth gaping and eyes wide, hurt shining through. When he made eye contact with Alex, he whipped around and started skating away, just like all the other times.

Jumping up carefully, cautious of the boys hanging off him, Alex poofed out to intercept him. He appeared right in front of Willie, and the other boy was forced to stop abruptly or run into him. 

“What’s your problem? It’s like you’re tracking me down just so you can keep running away?”

“I wish I could explain, man, but I can’t.”

Was that really all he was going to say, all he was going to give Alex? As Willie made to skate away yet again, Alex spoke up. “Wait- that's not… that’s not good enough. I mean, you’ve been acting weird ever since Caleb’s club?” Shaking his shoulders a little and shoving his hands deep into his pockets so he wouldn’t reach out for the boy in front of him, Alex’s eyes darted to the ground and then back up to Willie. “You know, I thought we were- having fun together?”

“It seems like you’ve been having fun without me too.” Biting his lips and gently shaking his head, Willie looked close to tears. “We never should’ve met.”

Alex stepped back, lurching like he’d been slapped. “Wow. That hurts. And- and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, okay, if that’s it? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away about Luke and Reggie. They’re- my family. My best friends, you know? And it’s not always easy to tell new people, especially cute new boys, that my best friends and I have a weird relationship! Can’t we, I don’t know, talk it out? I  _ miss  _ you, Willie.”

“I’m sorry, Alex. I mean, you’re a great guy. And yeah, I wish you’d told me, but talking about that won’t fix anything.” Looking around nervously, Willie sighed. “I gotta go.”

Willie poofed away, and Alex was left standing on the driveway feeling more defeated than he had since he found out he was dead.

\--- 

The jolts were getting worse. Way worse. They’d been shooting some hoops outside when they’d gotten hit with one that knocked both Reggie and Luke to the ground. Honestly, Alex wasn’t sure how he’d remained standing. 

Luke stood back up, dusting his hands off. “That wasn’t like the other ones… It’s getting worse.”

Reggie stood hunched over, hands on his knees, and tried to catch his breath. “Why is this happening to us?”

Alex wished he knew, wished he could protect his boys from this, but he couldn’t do anything, He was as helpless to help them as he was at getting Willie back. Willie who had just… poofed into existence in front of them?

“It’s because you guys are in serious trouble.”

Stepping forward, hope soared in Alex’s chest, overshadowing the fear brought about by what Willie had just said about the jolts. “Willie?”

Arms crossed and thumb rubbing at his bicep, Willie looked at all the boys. “We need to talk.”

They decided to walk while they talked, to let themselves work off their nervous energy. Willie told them what Caleb had done, what the stamps really meant, why he’d done it. Why Willie had been avoiding them, and why he hadn’t told them sooner. He looked close to crying the whole time, even more so when Alex accused him of letting it happen. At his proclamation that Caleb owned his soul, Alex felt a bit like an asshole, but mostly he was too busy feeling afraid. I mean, they had already died but now they were going to die again, unless they figured out their unfinished business? 

“Why should we listen to a word you say?”

“Because I care… about you, Alex. And I hate that I brought you… and your-” Stumbling over his thoughts, Willie paused for a second. “-friends, into this mess.” Shaking his head, Willie swallowed heavily. “I, uh- I can’t be away much longer. I’m sorry. For everything.”

\---

Alex was in the Orpheum the next day, staring up at the stage that he’d been hours away from playing. The stage that he would have to play again, if he didn’t want to dissolve into nothing. He was thinking over his last minutes alive when Willie poofed in beside him. 

“Is this seat taken?”

Sighing heavily, Alex leaned back and looked at the skater. “This whole thing sucks.”

“Yeah. I messed up.”

“No, it’s like you said, you know. You didn’t have a choice, Caleb owns your soul. I had a choice. I should have told you, about Luke and Reggie and the way we are. I mean, I introduced them as my  _ bandmates _ but they’re so much more to me than that. We’re way more than a band.”

Looking down and fiddling with his drumsticks, Alex continued. “They’re my best friends, my family. They’ve always been there for me in ways no one else has been. Luke, Reggie, and I? We cuddle and kiss and hug and hold hands and we love each other so much. We do all of that  _ because _ we love each other so much. But we’re not dating, not like that.”

Willie smiled a bit, the expression not reaching his eyes and barely lifting the corners of his mouth. “Thank you for telling me now, for explaining. What you guys have is rare, I’m glad you’ve got a love like that. But you’re wrong.” Willie shook his head, eyes rolling to the ceiling and mouth folding into a frown. “I know what he's capable of. I brought you guys right to him. When you guys asked me, I should’ve just skated away.”

Looking at the other boy, seeing the tears in his eyes and hearing them in his voice, Alex said what he knew to be true with his whole being. “I would have still followed you.”

Willie glanced at him and he smiled a bit, hoping to alleviate some of Willie’s guilt. 

“Man… I would do anything, to take back what I did to you.” Alex got hit with another jolt, and Willie leaned in closer. “I am so sorry. I mean, did you guys figure out what your unfinished business is?”

So Alex told him about how they’d have to play the Orpheum, how they’d been hours away from being legends. How everything they’d worked for had been taken away in one fell swoop by a bad hotdog, and how they were about to lose it all again. 

But sometimes things work out, even if you don’t exactly know why. The Orpheum hadn’t been their unfinished business afterall, but somehow Julie had saved them anyway. Somehow they were still there, and not only had they not crossed over or been eliminated from existence, but Julie could touch them. 

Alex was a little freaked out, not gonna lie. It was a good change, but it was still a change. Maybe he could talk to Willie about it… 

Later, though. For now, Alex was just gonna hold on tight to his family and never let go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot of canon content with some changes because of the time frame I wanted Willie to find out in, but next chapter is going to take place AFTER the end of canon so it balances out I think. Rewatching all the willex angst scenes hurt my heart though :(( 
> 
> I also wanna say sorry for the delay in getting this up. I started playing guitar again last Friday and my fingers were not happy with me which made it hard to type, and then I've had school to do so I hadn't been able to find any time to write until today. 
> 
> I hope you have a lovely morning/afternoon/evening/night depending on when you're reading this <3


	5. Ray & Carlos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie's family grows, and so does the Molina's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anthem for this chapter is Family by Mother Mother, I highly reccomend giving it a listen.

Reggie was dead. He’d been dead for a while now, and aware of it for a solid couple months. He’d gotten used to it, to being dead. He could touch his boys, be seen by Julie, play his bass… but largely he was invisible and inaudible. He could act silly and dance badly and pour his heart out, and as long as Luke, Alex, and Julie weren’t around, no one would be the wiser. Specifically, Ray would be none the wiser. 

His family had sucked, that wasn’t a secret. His parents were one fight away from a divorce but always too afraid to take the leap, and they spent all their time yelling about him instead of paying attention to him. Luke, Alex, and Bobby had saved him, had given him a home. Luke and Alex had shown him what love was, been there for him through thick and thin, taught him what it was like to feel safe with someone. In the space that exists between the boundaries of found family and another kind of love, where the lines are blurred and drawn in the sand… that’s where the boys stood, dancing around and redrawing the lines every day. Loving each other as much as they did was a dangerous game, because there was no telling what side of the line you'd end up on when you gave yourself to someone and they gave themself to you. Luke and Alex had taught him what family was supposed to be, and what it meant to love with his whole being. But that didn’t mean he’d ever had a real parent. 

Ray was, in a word, perfect. He was kind and considerate and he not only talked to Julie, but he  _ listened _ to her. He was a single dad trying to raise two kids and help them deal with their grief, all the while dealing with his own grief. He cared so much about Carlos and Julie, was so supportive of them and the things they wanted to do. Reggie had never known that, never experienced or been around the unconditional love and support parents were supposed to give to their children. Luke’s didn’t support the band, Alex’s kicked him out for being gay, Bobby’s mostly left him to his own devices, and Reggie’s… well, he’d already talked about his. Ray was like nothing Reggie had ever seen, and he wanted to be loved like that so badly. 

Being dead though, the relationship was a bit one sided. Ray couldn’t see or hear Reggie but Reggie could see and hear him. That’s why he watched him, helping him find his keys and giving commentary about his photos that the man would never hear. That’s why he started telling Ray about his day, about his thoughts and anxieties and struggles. That’s why he’d started calling him “dad”. How was he supposed to know that Julie was more magic than they’d thought? 

Reggie poofed into the kitchen, where Ray was making dinner (read: boiling spaghetti) while Carlos did his homework at the counter. Immediately launching into conversation like he always did, Reggie slid into the chair beside Carlos and placed his elbows on the ledge, chin in his hands. “Pasta for dinner tonight, dad? I thought Victoria brought over left overs yesterday.”

“We had this discussion already, Carlos. We’re having the food that  _ tìa  _ brought over for dinner tomorrow, because you’ve got a game and it’ll take less time to heat up. And since when do you call her Victoria?”

Carlos looked up from his work, staring right at where Reggie was sitting. “...That wasn’t me, dad.”

Ray turned around slowly, eyebrows inching up towards his hairline. “What do you mean, that wasn’t you? There’s no one else here.”

Carlos just continued to stare, eyes narrowing as if squinting would help him see Reggie better. Maybe it would. Reggie didn’t know, he wasn’t a ghost expert! Up ‘til now no one had been able to hear him, so maybe squinting to see him wasn’t out of the question! 

Reaching an arm out, Carlos poked his hand through Reggie’s chest. “Hey, watch it, dude! That feels _ weird _ .”

His arm dropped almost as quickly as his jaw, and the spoon Ray was holding clattered to the floor. Jumping up from his chair, Carlos pointed at Reggie, whole body vibrating with excitement. “There’s a- there’s a ghost! Dad, dad, it’s a real life  _ ghost _ !!”

Reggie was panicking a bit, but mostly he was just excited. First he’d played the Orpheum, then he’d gotten a hug from Julie (he was ignoring the near-death part of all that), and now Ray and Carlos could hear him. He stood up too, and grabbed one of the pencils on the counter, waving it through the air. 

“Yeah- yeah, Carlos! I’m- oh my god you can  _ hear me _ . I’m Reggie. I was the one in the living room, too, with the blind and the lamp and, and, and the sheet. Man, it’s so  _ cool _ that you can hear me.”

“Carlos… Did the ghost just say his name was Reggie? Please tell me you heard that too.”

Carlos smiled widely, his grin so big that it must’ve been hurting his cheeks. “ _ Yeah _ he did.” Letting his arm fall from where it had been pointing at Reggie, he laughed a little bit. “Are you one of Julie’s ghosts, from the band?”

“I’m the bassist, the one with the cool hair and sick leather jacket! And I don’t know if we’re  _ Julie’s _ ghosts, exactly. I mean, she is the only one who can see us when we’re not playing music… and we can only be seen when we play with her. Huh, maybe you’re right.” Putting the pencil down, Reggie leaned back against the wall behind him. “Man, this is surreal. I’ve been talking to you guys for months but now you can actually talk back. We’re having a conversation!”

In all the excitement of talking with Carlos, Reggie had sort of forgotten about Ray. And the boys. And Julie. That changed very quickly when Alex, Luke, and Julie all walked into the room right as the pasta boiled over. 

Ray whipped back around and turned the heat down, grabbing a new spoon from the holder beside the stove. Julie observed the scene with a bewildered look on her face, walking over to pick up the spoon that’d been dropped on the floor. And Alex turned to Reggie, one eyebrow raised and a baffled smile teasing at his lips.

“What was happening in here?”

“OH MY GOD ANOTHER GHOST-” Carlos spun around, pointing in Luke and Alex’s general direction. “Dad! Dad there’s another one! What’s your name, ghost number two?”

Everybody froze, Julie still half crouching in the middle of the kitchen. 

Reggie laughed, the sound bubbling out of him. “The one that just spoke was Alex, he plays the drums. Luke is here too, our guitarist. Luke, say hello to Ray and Carlos.” Smiling with tears welling up in his eyes, Reggie bit his bottom lip. “They can hear us now.”

“Uh.” Luke’s eyes were wide, and he seemed rooted to the spot. “Sup?”

“This is the best day of my life.” Throwing his hands up in the air and flopping back down onto his chair, Carlos gently shook his head. “There are three ghosts in my kitchen.”

“Julie,  _ mija _ , why are there three ghosts in my kitchen?  _ How _ are there three ghosts in my kitchen?” Ray sounded breathless, which was actually a pretty reasonable reaction. Certainly better than Julie’s screaming. And after explaining it to Flynn, it was way easier to explain to two people who already knew they were ghosts. It still took a while, though. 

Over the next half-hour, Julie explained how Julie and the Phantoms had come to be. Occasionally one of the boys would pipe in to add a detail, but for the most part they let her do the explaining. It seemed to freak Ray out less, and they didn’t want to upset him. At some point during the conversation, they migrated to the living room. Ray sat in the chair by the lamp, with Carlos resting on the arm. Julie stood, pacing back and forth as she went over the past few months, and the boys… the boys ended up on the couch, limbs entwined together as they silently reassured one another. 

Reggie was in the middle, bracketed on either side by Alex and Luke respectively. Each of them had an arm slung behind his head, hands resting on each other's shoulders, and Luke’s other hand rested on Reggie’s knee, rubbing gentle circles on his skin through his jeans. Reggie’s heart was racing, because once the excitement had worn off he’d just been left with the anxiety. What if Ray kicked them out? What if Ray and Julie got in a fight because of this? What if he couldn’t talk to Ray anymore? He’d just been getting used to having something like a dad, and now it might all be taken away. 

As if he could read his thoughts, Alex leaned closer and whispered in Reggie’s ear. “Don’t worry, Reggie. Try to get outta your head for a second, and look at him.”

So Reggie did, taking a second to really look at Ray. He didn’t look mad, not like he’d expected him to. He looked… like someone had just told him shocking news and he was trying to absorb it. And he looked like he was trying to understand, like he wished he had a notebook so he could write it all down. Reggie was so focused on staring at his father-figure that he didn’t notice when Julie walked over. He did notice when she stretched her arms as wide as she could and tried to hug them all at once, and amazingly, it worked. The second time was just as magical as the first. He could feel her chin on his shoulder, feel Alex and Luke squished in closer to him because of her squeezing them. And he could see when they started to glow again, soft yellow light spilling into the space around them. 

And he definitely noticed when Ray gasped, sounding like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. 

As Julie pulled away, leaving the boys more on top of each other than they’d been before, Alex threaded his fingers through Reggie’s and Luke did the same to his other hand. Carlos had stood up from his perch on the arm of the chair and was simply staring at them, mouth gaping. Ray was staring at them too, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. 

“Dad, this is my band. They’ve been best friends since the late 80s, but now I’m part of their group too. ” Moving to the side, Julie placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “This is Luke. He’s a guitarist and songwriter, and he used to be the lead singer of Sunset Curve. Closest to you is Alex. He’s our drummer, but he’s got a killer voice when he feels like singing.”

Ray nodded as she explained, smiling at each of the boys in turn. Reggie tried to curl in on himself, gripping tightly at the hands he held in his. He stared at Ray from under his eyelashes, holding his breath. 

“And in the middle is Reggie. He’s our bassist, though he’s also got an epic voice. He’s the one who’s been helping you around the house, moving your keys to where they’re supposed to be so you stop losing them and writing important tests and games and gigs on the calendar.”

The more Julie said, the wider Ray smiled. When she reached the end, he looked right at Reggie and grinned, chucking a bit. “That was you? Thank you, Reggie. I appreciate it.” Making eye contact with each of them, Ray’s smile softened, tears welling up once more. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the boys who brought my Julie back to me. I’m so glad to have you here with us.”

Reggie burst into tears. A sob tore it’s way out of his throat, and he felt Luke and Alex curl closer. Luke nosed at the back of his neck, starting to whisper reassurances, and Alex adjusted his arms so he was almost cradling Reggie against his chest. 

“Hey, hey, hey… it’s okay Reg, let it out… It’s okay. We’re okay.”

Reggie only sobbed harder, overwhelmed by his emotions, by the relief that flooded his whole body. The boys held him until the cries started to taper off and he was able to take a breath without it hitching. Luke pulled back a bit first, looking at him. 

“You all good, Reg?”

Sniffling a bit, Reggie nodded. Alex squeezed him a bit tighter before relaxing his grip and letting him slide back to his previous position on the couch, facing forward and sandwiched between the boys. When he looked up, the first thing he saw was Ray.

The older man was crouched on the ground beside the couch, concern painting his features. 

“Are you okay, Reggie? Was it something I said?”

That just about set him off again, but he managed to keep his composure save for a few more sniffles. 

“Ye-yeah. I'm, yeah. I’m okay, da- Ray.”

Ray’s eyes went soft, and the corner of his mouth quirked up. “You can call me dad if you want to, Reggie. I’d be honoured.”

Tears started to stream down his cheeks again, and Reggie took a chance, launching himself off the couch towards Ray. To everyone’s surprise, including his own, he landed in his arms, nearly knocking the man over. He buried his face against his chest, hugging him with all his strength. The tears he cried might not have left any marks on Ray’s shirt, but the “I got you, Reggie.” mumbled into his hair would stay with the teen forever.

He heard Carlos's quiet proclamation of "Sweet! I've got a ghost brother!" as he felt Alex and Luke kneel on the ground and join the hug. They were followed shortly by Julie, and then finally Carlos. Being held by everyone who mattered to him, Reggie felt safer and more loved than ever before.  _ This _ was what family was supposed to be. 

With that thought in mind, Reggied buried deeper into Ray’s arms. If he could have, he would've stayed in this moment forever. “Thank you, Dad.”

_ (For more than you could ever know.) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hit hard. I cried while planning it out, and while writing it. Found family means a lot to me, and the relationship that Reggie has with Ray was too pure to not dedicate nearly an entire chapter to it. I hope that I was able to bring across those emotions in my writing, how important all of these people are to Reggie and how much Ray's acceptance means to him. 
> 
> Your people are out there somewhere, even if it sometimes takes you a while to find them. 
> 
> (Once again, Family by Mother Mother was the song I listened to on repeat while writing this, so check it out if you want a little peek into the vibes I was feeling while writing)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A song & a beach day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Someone to you by Banner is the song in this chapter! I listened to it while writing and also have the boys sing it because it seemed like it fit really well. This is the last chapter for this fic but I've got other ideas for fics in this series :)

Luke loved music, and he loved the people he made it with more than anything. When he’d died, he’d been devastated (that wasn’t really abnormal though, most people were probably devastated when they died). They’d been so close to playing their dream gig, the concert that would launch them right to stardome and start them on the road to the rock & roll hall of fame, but then they’d gone for street dogs and that future had been ripped out of their hands in one foul swoop. He was dying, the people he loved were dying, and for all he knew, their music was dying with them. 

Twenty-five years later they got a second chance, another opportunity to be heard, to make music together. Because of Julie, Luke’s purpose was given back to him. And then they nearly died, permanently, and Julie had saved them again. Luke got to exist, got to spend more time with his boys, got to give his parents closure. Luke got to be someone and be loved, and that was all he’d ever really wanted. 

\---

He sat in the garage with the boys, Alex and Reggie cuddling on the couch while he sat in the chair and worked through some lyrics. He would mumble them outloud every so often, trying out tunes, and his boys would listen and give him feedback. Mostly though, they just sat together in comfortable silence. Luke had been working on this song for months,decades technically, since he’d started it back in ‘95. It was taking him ages, because he wanted to capture everything he’d felt through the whole ordeal of dying all the way to being in a ghost band. It might’ve really boiled down to one feeling, but that just meant it was all the more important that it was perfect.

Luke looked up at how Reggie and Alex were entwined, holding each other, simply breathing together and existing in the same space. Looking back down, he wrote the title of the song at the top of the page. 

“It’s done, guys.” 

They both lifted their heads, eyes widening. 

“The song? You finished it?” Getting up from the couch and moving to stand beside Luke’s chair, Reggie broke out into a grin. “‘Someone to you’, huh? I like it.”

Alex joined them, peering over Reggie’s shoulder. “Is it ready for us to learn?”

Luke stood up, grabbing his notebook off the table and smirking before walking over to their instruments. “You know it.”

They practised for the rest of the day, stopping when Julie got home because Luke wanted the song to be a surprise for her. Well, partially because of that. He’d written this song for his boys, and he wanted to share it with Julie and the world, but not ‘til they’d had the chance to fully get to know it themselves. In the meantime, they would continue on with business as usual. 

\---

A few days after Luke finished writing the song, him, Alex, and Reggie went down to the beach. They brought a blanket with them, Luke wearing it like a cape as they walked along the shore. They held hands, and the conversation was light and easy, like everything with them seemed to be these days. With the sound of the waves as gentle background noise, they continued on their way until they found a spot that Reggie deemed perfect. 

Luke laid the blanket down, and all the boys immediately kicked off their shoes and used them to hold the corners down. Wiggling his toes in the sand, Luke felt something warm and happy settle in the base of his chest just as Reggie leaned over and gave him a shove, crying out “Tag! You’re it!” before running away. Alex raised his eyebrows and stepped backwards, a smile dancing at his lips. 

Luke laughed and rolled his eyes, and then bolted off after Reggie. Though the bassist was a bit taller than him and had gotten a head start, he wasn’t really trying too hard to get away. Luke caught up quickly, tapping Reggie on the arm and shouting “Tag!” over his shoulder as he ran back towards Alex. He wasn’t expecting Reggie to be as fast as he was though, so it came as a big surprise when seconds later he was tackled to the ground, face full of sand. 

Reggie rolled off him and Luke rolled over, dusting the sand off his face and catching his breath. He could hear Alex laughing his ass off by the blanket, and when he tilted his head to look at his attacker, the smile on Reggie’s face made up for the sand that would probably be stuck in his hair for days. Reggie stood up first and offered Luke a hand, pulling him into a hug. 

“Sorry for tackling you.”

Rolling his eyes, Luke couldn’t thwart the grin that’d taken over his face. “No, you’re not. It’s okay though.” He held his hand out to the other boy and twined their fingers together, and they made their way back to Alex and the blanket. 

“Did you guys have fun over there? You’ve, uh- You’ve got a little something, Luke, on your-” Alex gestured at his whole body, giggling the whole time. 

“Ha ha ha, Alex. Thank you, so much.” Luke aggressively shook his head, flinging sand everywhere before flopping down onto the blanket beside the drummer. Reggie sat down too, carefully folding himself so he was sitting criss-crossed opposite the other two. 

Luke fell back, stretching his legs out and staring at the clouds. As he watched the wind blow them into different shapes, he felt Alex lay down beside him and grab his hand. A few moments later, Reggie made his way over and gingerly nestled into Luke’s other side, pulling Luke’s arm around his shoulder and placing his head on Luke’s chest. 

His cheeks were beginning to hurt from how much he’d been smiling, but he just couldn’t seem to stop. “I love you guys, so much.”

Reggie nuzzled in closer and mumbled into his chest. “Love you, too”

Alex squeezed his hand and shifted so their whole sides were pressed together. “Love you both, always.”

They cloud-gazed for a while, Reggie falling asleep after a few minutes while Luke and Alex tried to find the weirdest shapes they could. After Alex proclaimed himself the winner when he saw one that looked a bit like a ghost riding a skateboard and called it Willie, Luke and him just chatted about everything and nothing until Reggie woke up. When he did, they all put their shoes back on and Alex folded up the blanket. They poofed back to the studio, smiles on their faces and love in their hearts.

\---

After about a week of practicing whenever they were alone at the studio, the song was ready. Eager to share it, the boys had asked for Flynn, Willie, Carlos, Ray, and Julie to come to the studio that evening, saying that they had a surprise. It was a weird day, leading up to their performance. Luke hadn’t written a song and not shared it with Julie since he’d appeared right in front of her, so he was a bit anxious to hear what she thought after having gotten used to getting her feedback live when they wrote together. He was also really excited though, to finally share this song. He’d written it for himself, for Luke and Reggie, but at its core it was written for everyone he cared about. 

At around 7 o’clock, everyone started filing into the studio. Flynn had stayed over for dinner with the Molina’s after school and Willie had already been hanging out with Alex, so once the lifers were finished with their meal, they made their way down. As all the “guests” got situated, Ray and Carlos sitting on the couch beside Willie (though they couldn’t see him) while Flynn took the chair and Julie sat on the floor at her feet, the boys set up behind their instruments. Once everyone was where they were supposed to be, Luke looked out at them and a smile broke out on his face. 

Because of whatever had happened with Julie, the boys could be heard by the people they cared about, even though they could only be seen with Julie’s help. She’d made sure to give all the boys a hug when she arrived at the studio, which meant they would be visible, audible, and tangible for at least a few minutes. Kind of important that your audience could see and hear you, when you were going to be giving a performance. 

Luke stepped up to his mic and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Hey guys, how you doin’? So, uh, this song has a bit of back story to it. I’d just put the first lines of it in- in my notebook, uh, a few days before we died? The tune wouldn’t get out of my head, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t seem to come up with more lyrics.” It had really frustrated him, at the time, feeling like the words were on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn’t say them. 

“I, uh, found it again, a few days after we showed up here though, and then the words wouldn’t stop coming. I think that, like, maybe this song was always meant to be written now? After… everything. I needed to go through all of this first, before I could write the rest.

“Anyways. Um, Alex, Reggie, and I have been working on it all week since I finished it. I, uh, I hope you like it. This is ‘somebody to you’.”

Luke jumped right into the song, playing the small little riff at the beginning before he was joined by Alex and Reggie. When the first verse came up a few moments later, he looked at Reggie and leaned in closer to his mic. 

“ _I don’t wanna die or fade away… I just wanna be someone, I just wanna be someone…_ ”

Reggie stared back at him, eyes shining with love and bright with the excitement that was always there when he performed. “ _Dive and disappear without a trace… I just wanna be someone, well doesn’t everyone?_ ”

They continued on throughout the song, flipping between who was singing with Alex jumping in on the choruses too. When they got to the bridge, Reggie wandered over to share the mic with Luke. 

“... _Kingdom come, the rise, the fall. The setting sun above it all. I just wanna be somebody to you…_ ” They stared at each other for just a moment too long before remembering to turn away and start in on the chorus again. 

When the band got to the end of the song, the last notes rang out and Luke sang the final line. His gentle “ _Someone to you_ ” hung in the air for a moment, and then their small audience burst into applause. 

With a smile splitting across his face, Luke did a small mock bow and turned to look at his boys. They’d come so far, since they were those little fourteen year olds jamming out in the school music room after hours. So much had changed, since Luke met Alex in second grade, since Reggie had joined their group in freshman year, since they’d first kissed on New Year’s Eve… They’d been through so much together, stuck with each other through thick and thin, through the good and the bad. These boys were his best friends, they meant the world to him. They were his family, and he would do anything if they asked him to, no matter what. 

The song had started with him saying he didn’t want to die, but now that he was dead, he was pretty sure that wasn’t what he’d been afraid of. Yeah, Luke loved music. He wanted to be heard, to be seen, to reach people with his songs… but Luke knew that all of that would only matter if he was doing it with Alex and Reggie. 

He wanted to be somebody, to change the world and leave a mark. These boys, though? They _were_ his world. They were what he lived for, what he breathed for, who he wrote for. Luke wanted to be somebody, but as long as he was someone to them, he knew that he’d be okay. 

Luke hadn’t ever been afraid of dying. He’d been afraid of life without them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, someone to you by Banner is the song!! Go give it a listen if you haven't already. 
> 
> I hope you guys liked reading this fic as much as I loved writing it. This is the last chapter of "somebody to someone," but it isn't the end of the "our love" series, dw. I've got lots of ideas for other fics in this 'verse, so stay tuned <3 
> 
> (I literally love these boys so much, but not nearly as much as they love each other woops)

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr! [ @just-a-little-bit-of-sugar ](https://just-a-little-bit-of-sugar.tumblr.com/) and [ @blue-blurbs ](https://blue-blurbs.tumblr.com/)


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